NI's first astronaut 'can't wait to get started'

"I'm really thrilled to have this opportunity and I can't wait to get started."

Belfast-born astronaut Dr Rosemary Coogan has said she is thrilled to have been selected as part of the newest batch of European Space Agency astronauts.

Spending her early years in Northern Ireland and the south of England, Dr Coogan said it was a wonderful feeling after "quite a long selection process" to make the cut among more than 20,000 applicants.